Contracts and Tenure

Letters of reappointment will be sent to all continuing non-tenured faculty members by March 1 of each year. The college shall issue salary letters annually by May 15. The contract period for full time (tenured and tenure track) faculty members is nine months. The contract period for new full time faculty members begins August 1 and extends through the date final Spring Semester grades are due in the Registrar’s Office. The contract period for continuing full time (tenured and tenure track) faculty members begins the weekday prior to the start of classes in the Fall Semester and extends through the date final Spring Semester grades are due in the Registrar’s Office. All faculty members are bound by the provisions of their contracts unless these are explicitly excused by the President. Separate contracts shall be issued for the summer terms, immersion terms out of load, and for modules in a timely manner.

Faculty salaries are paid in either nine or twelve equal monthly installments, on the twenty-fourth day of the month. If the twenty-fourth day of the month falls on an official federal holiday or on a weekend, payment will be made on the last day prior to the holiday or weekend.

Centenary College subscribes to the principles of academic freedom and tenure as expressed in the AAUP Policy Documents and Reports (9th ed., 2001).

Tenure recommendations may originate with departmental chairs, the Personnel Committee, or the administration. Centenary’s own procedures for reviewing candidates during their probationary period are described in Section 12.

Beginning with appointment to the rank of full-time, tenure track instructor or higher rank, the appointee shall serve a probationary period not to exceed seven years. An appointee, in consultation with the Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost and department chair, may choose to apply for tenure sooner. Personal or Family leave may not apply to the time counted during the probationary period, unless specifically authorized by the Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost.

Before the College grants tenure to a faculty member on probationary status, the administration shall confer with the other members of the department involved and with the Personnel Council. Letters notifying faculty members of tenure appointments shall not be offered without prior approval of the Board of Trustees. Once a faculty member has received tenure, all subsequent contracts, except as specified elsewhere in this handbook, shall reflect that status. If tenure is not to be awarded at the end of the probationary period, notification must be given prior to the end of fall semester, and the faculty member will have one additional full-time academic year of employment by the College.

Notice of non-reappointment or intention not to recommend to the Board of Trustees the reappointment of non-tenured faculty must be given in writing in accordance with the following standards.

1. Not later than March 1 of the first academic year of service at Centenary, if the appointment expires at the end of that year; or, if a one-year appointment terminates during an academic year, at least three months in advance of its termination;
2. Not later than December 15 of the second academic year of service at Centenary, if the appointment expires at the end of that year; or, if an initial two-year appointment terminates during an academic year, at least six months in advance of its termination;
3. Not later than September 1 of the third or subsequent year of service at Centenary.

Honorably retired faculty members of other institutions may be employed on a year-to-year basis. If they are not to be continued in service, notice shall be given three months prior to the expiration of the contract period. In cases of protracted illness after retirement age, the College will be relieved of financial obligation from the time at which a person's inability to return to work is determined. (See also Section 15, Retirement.)

Tenured faculty shall be terminated only for adequate cause. Teachers on continuous appointment who are dismissed for cause, such as program discontinuation, except in cases of moral turpitude, shall receive their salary for an additional academic year after they are no longer employed. In the case of program discontinuation, the released faculty member's former position will not be filled within a period of two years unless the released faculty member has been offered reappointment and has declined.

Similarly, if a tenured appointment is terminated because of financial exigency, the faculty member must be given appropriate notice and every effort must be given to provide a separation agreement commensurate with the faculty member’s length of service.

When a tenured faculty member is notified of the termination of their appointment, the Personnel Committee shall also be informed. In all cases, the faculty member subject to dismissal shall be provided with a written statement from the President or the Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost indicating the reasons for the decision to terminate his/her services.